Changing Directions
by MissBesanii
Summary: Cavalier Shipping One shot. Dawn no longer knows what to do now Zoey beat her at the Sinnoh Grande Festival, with Ash wanting to go to the battle islands, she has no idea what to do...


_Changing Directions._

She slumped in her chair, her head propped up lethargically by her hands. Second place was so horrible, to have the prize ripped away from you when you're so close.

She sighed heavily, causing a sympathetic glance from Ash.

What did he know? He'd just won his tournament and there wasn't a happier soul on earth than the boy who sat opposite her.

He just had to make it worse; "Cheer up Dawn; it's the experience that counts. You did so well on your _first_ try! Just think how well you'll do next time!"

She clamped her teeth onto her lips in a desperate attempt to stop herself from spoiling his cheerful mood. That would be selfish; she should suck this up and let him have his happiness.

But how could she? She'd literally just come back from the Grand Festival of Sinnoh. Her hair was still curled beautifully, her best creation yet. Her dress was dolled up to perfection, so simple and elegant that she was the belle of the appeal round.

Buneary was perfect in her appeal, and Piplup was as brilliant as always in battle. The final was where she was overcome, Mamoswine just… Stopped. Zoey wasn't going to let her chance slip, and so the final was finished in embarrassingly record timing. She couldn't blame the red head, for she would have done the exact same thing if the roles had been reversed.

Oh how she wished they'd been reversed. It made her ponder on what went wrong; none of Zoey's Pokémon would dream of refusing to battle. Was Dawn a bad trainer? Or an even worse Coordinator? She debated on whether to give up all together; perhaps her mother's brilliance hadn't been hereditary after all…

She flicked her attention slowly to Ash again, his lips were moving at a rate that she couldn't be bothered to catch up on his conversation.

"Ash, I don't think she's listening." Brock's calm voice cut in, which she was thankful for. He had always been the observant one, it was in his nature. She shot a look of gratitude as best possible through her solemn eyes. He smiled remorsefully, patting her on the shoulder as he walked towards the kitchen.

The silence that fell over them was peaceful, even if Ash kept fidgeting through the awkward quietness. She kept her eyes low on the floor and continued her self-conflict about her own future.

Maybe she would be better at gym battles? She'd done so well in her only attempt versus Maylene, although she lost, she'd come so close on her first attempt.

Ash could show her the tricks of the trade… Maybe if she had someone's footsteps to follow she could fight her way to the top in no time.

Her ribbon case trembled as her hands shook violently in protest to her thoughts; of course she couldn't give up her precious ribbons. Changing career was out of the question.

So take a break? That's what Zoey would do, and she was now a champion. What could she do? Where could she go? She was tired of the same old scene; Sinnoh was nothing new to her anymore.

"That's it!" Ash exclaimed suddenly with slight exasperation, apparently he had watched her confused and pained expression for some time. He leapt up from her chair and grabbed at her hand, Pikachu hopped onto her shoulder for comfort as Piplup wasn't there at that moment.

"Where are we going?" She asked out of politeness, though her voice was monotonous. He didn't seem to mind; "We're going to do what I would usually, we're going to talk to your Mom and then Professor Oak. He always tells me what's new and the routes I can now choose."

She nodded absent-mindedly, but her frown furrowed; "I don't want to talk to Mom now, she'll be disappointed."

Though Ash frowned, aching to protest, he nodded and led her to the video phones. He paid for it out of courtesy, and jabbed at the numbers as he waited for the grey-haired elder to appear on the screen.

"Hello Ash, Congratulations!"

"Thanks Professor, I couldn't have done it if you hadn't have kept Heracross in tip-top shape!" Ash grinned, his optimistic atmosphere made Dawn want to cry in self-pity.

Oak turned his attentions to her; "And I hear you are to be congratulated too, Dawn. A very well done indeed!"

"Not really, professor…" She grumbled; a little stung by his sanguinity too. Her eyes prickled and a thickness formed in her throat as she fought it back down with several useless gulps.

The aging man smiled reassuringly; "My dear, coordinating is becoming a tough world, you did extremely well to get so far on your first try! Why Ash got to the top sixteen on _his_ first attempt at something as big as the grand festival, and his Charizard-"

"I'm not sure she'd like to hear about that Professor!" Ash interrupted quickly; sweat dropping as he scratched his head. Pikachu did likewise and giggled in its charmingly sweet little voice.

Professor Oak chuckled, then looked back to Dawn; "Have you decided whether you'd like to have another go in Sinnoh?"

She nodded, whispering so quietly that he could barely make out her words; "I don't want to stay here."

Ash recoiled, his Pokémon paralleling his surprise; "What? But I want to go to the Battle islands! You have to come with me!"

"Now now Ash, she can do as she likes. If she's decided Sinnoh is not for her, you should let her move on." Professor scolded gently. Ash pouted, but nodded and remained quiet as he thought.

Dawn reasserted her attention to the Professor; "Ash says you could tell me if there's anything out there I might be interested in at the moment?"

He thought a while, a few hums left his lips as he did so; "I do believe Jhoto is the place to be at the moment."

Both of the teenagers groaned for different reasons. For Ash, he'd already been there; another time would be boring.

Dawn however, explained openly; "I know someone who's already there. I don't really want to be her rival again for a while…"

"Ahh, yes; May." Professor mused, his eyes elsewhere than the screen.

"Yeah, Drew and Solidad are there too, I don't think Dawn should be up against them until she's back to her cheerful self." Ash nodded in his authority, only to receive a glare from Dawn. He went quiet quickly again.

There was a silence again as they all thought, Ash had to put a little more money in, but he didn't seem to mind.

"I do believe Gary is nearby Sunyshore at the moment. Perhaps you could find him? I'm sure he'll have some news for you." The professor grinned; Gary Oak was his pride and joy. He could only have got more proud when the young boy decided to follow in his own footsteps.

Dawn hummed to herself, seeing Gary would be a good idea. She always enjoyed his company; he was so cheerful and even Ash's protection could not compare to the feeling of safety she felt when she was with the rising Professor.

"I'd like to see Gary, actually." Ash interrupted her train of thought, but she was still interested in his thoughts; "I think he'd like to see how Gliscor has grown!"

Oak beamed; "That's a lovely idea, Gary is always interested in developing Pokémon!"

Dawn nodded; "Okay, I'll find him. If he contacts you, could you tell him we're looking for him, please?"

"Will do Dawn, and cheer up a little; things are going extremely well for you. Besides, you have one of the best mentors around." He looked over to Ash, whose chest inflated massively.

"Thanks professor!" Ash grinned, a tinge of red blushing at his cheeks. They said their farewells and the screen went black.

Ash exhaled deeply, then nodded; "We'll look for him in the morning, let's go eat!"

"You and your stomach…" Dawn jabbed, receiving a roll of the eyes. They walked in silence, but Brock grinned when he saw Dawn's eyes alight with a tiny expanding flame of optimism.

"I take it Professor Oak said something right, right?" He said as he stirred a thick sauce in a pan.

Ash wandered over and peeked over Brock's shoulder whilst talking to him; "Professor said Gary is in the area and he might have some ideas about where Dawn could go next…" His voice drifted after that, and he changed his attention to out of the window, clearly thinking deeply.

Brock suppressed a smile as he read into the meaning of Ash's words; "Dawn isn't coming with us?"

Dawn grimaced; this wasn't what she wanted to talk about right now. Gary could help her tell them some other time. She cursed Brock mentally for being observant; this time it wasn't so useful.

"She doesn't want to stay in Sinnoh, but I want to go to the battle islands." Ash pouted, folding his arms around his chest and a frown furrowing stubbornly in his face.

She glared at him; "I don't have to come with you."

"He didn't say that, Dawn. I think you should consider it though, are you ready to go on your own?" Brock defended Ash, she scoffed at her idiocy. Of course Brock would side with Ash; they'd been friends longer than without her than with.

She frowned; "I set out alone, right?"

They stayed silent for a moment, and she knew she'd stumped them. Though it was a low blow, she knew they would have to accept she was independent enough.

"Yeah and you nearly got caught by Team Rocket." Ash murmered, only to be scolded by Pikachu. The mouse pokemon was well aware that if it weren't for Dawn, it would no longer belong to Ash.

Dawn could feel her face heat up; "That was a long time ago, I'm a lot stronger now and I know what I'm doing!" She growled angrily before storming out of the Pokemon center, no longer hungry.

Without Piplup, she felt extremely lonely. None of her pokemon were avaliable to keep her company as they were recovering from their vigourous battles.

She trudged through the dark city, her feet only dimly illuminated by the streetlamps. She shivered, but she wasn't too cold to want to return to Ash's lecture. Instead she wrapped her arms around her waist and fought the bitter winds lapping her hair that whipped at her eyes.

She lifted her eyes to check the road for any cars, to find she wasn't the only one walking the street in this weather.

"Gary!" Her voice burst through her lips with sheer excitement. She ran across the road, mentally thanking herself for already checking it was safe to and then crashed into him. He looked completely dazed, but eventually his hands settled on her into a greeting hug.

"It's nice to see you, Dawn!" He said cheerfully, yet his voice sounded a little distant.

She let go of him to study his face; "It's great to see you too! Professor Oak told me you were in town!" She babbled excitedly, suddenly forgetting why she had come out here.

"You didn't have to come looking for me in the cold!" He grinned, pulling her to his side to share some of his radiating warmth. She accepted gracefully and just nodded in response; she didn't want to tell him that she hadn't come seaching for him in case she sounded offensive.

He tightened his grip around her shoulders and set off walking; "so is there a reason for you wanting to see me?"

"Actually yes," She beamed up at him; "Professor Oak told me you might know what I could do now I've tried Sinnoh."

He frowned slightly, but quickly fought them back to a casual smile; "You don't want to stay here then?"

She shook her head, she didn't want to get into this again; "Ash doesn't want to come with me either. He wants to go to the battle islands."

"That's understandable." Gary shrugged, but she sighed back; "we got into an argument. He thinks I'm not responsible enough to go on a journey alone yet."

She had no idea where she was walking, but she didn't care either, Gary was a great friend to talk to. He listened intently to her and offered the exact advice she needed; "now you and I both know he doesn't mean it like that. He worries about not being able to protect you, but he just doesn't want to say it. Ash is complicated like that, he used to say he hated me."

She blinked, astonished; "He did? Why would he hate _you!?" _

"I wasn't as nice to him back then as I am now." He laughed at some memory she didn't know about, but blinked and looked back at her; "Don't take it out on him though, he's only saying it to keep you with him for a little longer."

"I guess you're right…" Dawn mumbled, keeping her eyes low on the ground. It wasn't long before she felt her eyes begin to sting a little, she wasn't sure if she had any tears left to betray her.

Gary's grip tightened even more as he tried to turn her to face him, his spare hand reaching for her furthest cheek; "Hey! What's going on?" He almost whispered to her, his voice dripping with concern as he usually showed for anyone in trouble.

"Sorry." She muttered, keeping her eyes on his necklace.

He stopped walking immediately and pulled her tighter so she was forced to rest her head on his shoulder. She turned and his other arm latched around her too.

"Don't be silly, what's wrong?" He asked her, and her arms came to wrap around him too, though she held on for emotional support rather than to hug him personally.

"I don't know what to do!" She hiccuped helplessly, her pleading midnight blue eyes meeting his sympathetic, beautifully dark brown ones.

He was silent for a moment, evaluating her options. He wasn't sure what to say to her, why had his grandfather sent her to him?

She had already recovered from her emotion overspill and leant away from him even though his arms still clung to support her.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" She asked him through a few sniffs. He clicked out of his thought and let her move to his side so they could walk again.

He watched where they were walking for some time before he replied; "I'm here to collect a parcel, then I'm heading back to Kanto."

Kanto, she thought of all the stories Ash and Brock had shared with her, even when it hadn't got the Coordinating world in it, it still sounded fascinating. Then May, who had been there too told her many of her stories when she was visiting Ash. She had the time of her life, she said she prefered it to Hoenn.

"Do you have to go today?" She asked, a slight disappointment in her voice.

He studied her expression again; "in this weather? Tomorrow, I think."

She tried to force a smile, but she knew a day wasn't enough time for him to cheer her up completely, this was going to take time. He noticed the falter in her face and quickly corrected himself; "I could stay a little longer if you'd like."

"Your work is a lot more important than me, Gary." She protested, though how she wished he would.

He frowned; "That's debatable."

"No, you should go. Solve some mysteries and don't forget me when you're famous!" She teased, nudging him gently with her elbow.

His mouth twisted into a smirk; "it's too late for that I think."

She gave him a second nudge with a little more edge, he huffed, but chuckled anyway. "Go to kanto you silly fool." She rolled her eyes and giggled forcefully to make her look cheerful.

Then it hit him like a rock to the head. How obvious an answer and the genius professor did not think of it immediately; "Come with me."

She blinked in surprise; "What?"

"Think about it!" He began excitedly; "You don't want to be alone, Ash doesn't want you unprotected and I'm leaving Sinnoh! It's hitting _three _Honchkrows with one rock throw!"

She did think about it, it was the perfect plan, she'd already convinced herself Kanto was amazing, so she was eager to see it with her own eyes. Ash wouldn't have an excuse to drag her to the Battle Islands by her hair and she'd be with Gary who and all the time in the world to cheer her up back to her normal self. She grinned at him and nodded; "Okay!"

He grinned at her as they turned a corner into a street that was hardly lit at all. She automatically coiled into his side as shivers crept up her spine.

Even his whisper made her jump; "We should get you back to the Pokemon center."

She nodded; "They'll send the search out soon."

They laughed together as she eased up at the sight of the next streetlamp. They turned right again to complete their loop back towards the Pokemon Center.

"Dawn?"

She mumbled a 'Uh-hum' as a sign of recognision, he smiled and continued; "are you sad you're leaving Ash? We can stay a while longer if you'd like."

She shook her head; "No, if I'm going to follow you, I'm not going to be a burden to you."

"You won't be following me, nor will you be a burden!" He protested, her frown deepening.

She grimaced slightly; "You're kinder to me than I deserve…"

"You're being stupid, you owe me nothing. I am kind to you because you're one of the kindest people I know." He replied almost angrily, it confused her completely. They stayed in silence for a while once more.

"Gary?" She imitated his tone perfectly and awaited his gaze. His eyes locked onto hers and she scanned them for every emotion that flecked through his shimmering, beautiful irises. Once she found what she was looking for in them, she confirmed it silently by reaching up onto her tip-toes. He was only too keen to help her reach him. His snaked arm around her waist tightened, and the other slid along her back to reach her face. She leaned on his one arm to allow him to lift her towards him, his lips pressing closer as she did. Her eyes closed with his as his hand moved around into her hair. She pulled her arms tight to her chest as the space between them was limited and the warmth in their passion radiated through each other. The cold was no match for the heat they were feeling, her problems had no way to infiltrate the elation she felt every time their lips broke apart and began a fresh kiss.

"Dawn." He whispered before being kissed again in protest, he obliged happily, but still repeated her name with a frown; "Dawn, you're going blue."

She leaned away from him to allow herself some self-analysis, she found she was shivering to the point where she could no longer feel her arms or bare legs.

She giggled as a snowflake landed on his nose. She reached up and kissed it so it melted immediately on her hot lips.

"I guess we should go tell them then." She sighed, not leaving his eye contact as they began to walk again.

He hugged her closer and let her lean her head on his shoulder; "then it's me and you."

_

* * *

_

For Scarlett.


End file.
